Rehabilitation Medicine Fellowship

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The ACGME-accredited Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) Fellowship Program at Children’s National Health System is designed to develop advanced skills in the diagnosis and treatment of children with disabilities. We offer one- and two-year programs. The length of the fellowship is based on the fellows’ applicant’s previous training, and is consistent with the requirements of the ABPMR.

Fellows are responsible for participating in the care of pediatric patients in inpatient and outpatient clinical settings. This includes performing and documenting a history and physical examination, formulating and executing diagnosis and treatment plans, and leading the treatment team for the patient in conjunction with the attending physiatrist. The PRM fellows relay recommendations to the patients and their families once the evaluation is complete and facilitate the discussion with the patients and families to make sure that all questions and concerns are addressed.

Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation

Our 12-bed acute inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit was opened in 2003 at the MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and is a joint venture between MedStar NRH and Children’s National. MedStar NRH is a free-standing 118-bed hospital. There are approximately 100 admissions to the pediatric unit per year. The most common conditions include: traumatic and non-traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, tumors, neuromuscular disorders, and musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.

Inpatient Consultation

Founded in 1870, Children’s National is one of the nation’s oldest independent children’s hospitals. Children’s National is a free-standing 283-bed tertiary pediatric hospital. Children’s National has over 10,000 inpatient admissions per year. The Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine fellows participate in inpatient consultations at Children’s National (over 400 per year) for patients admitted to NICU, PICU, CICU, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, oncology, general pediatric, and trauma services.

Procedural Training

Fellows are trained in the procedures related to the field of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, including chemodenervation with Botox and intramuscular neurolysis with phenol, electrodiagnostic studies, and intrathecal baclofen pump management.

The Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Fellowship Program offers fellows multiple opportunities for research. Children’s National and its academic affiliate, George Washington University, sponsor courses in biostatistics, epidemiology and clinical research methods. Collaboration is available through Children’s Research Institute, Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital Neuroscience Research Center, and the National Institutes of Health. Each fellow is expected to complete at least one research project during the fellowship.

The Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine fellows complete training in the core curriculum for fellows at Children’s National. In addition, the fellows actively participate in the Division of PRM didactic series that includes lectures/seminars, case presentations with analysis and journal clubs. The fellows attend Children’s National Grand Rounds, Children’s National neuroscience series, and pediatric neuroradiology rounds, as well as national conferences (at least one per year) pertaining to Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine.

The fellows have an integral role as part of the training program for PM&R residents from MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. In addition, they are expected to help train other rotating residents and medical students through daily supervision in the clinical settings and through formal lectures and other didactics.

Successful completion of an ACGME accredited residency program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, or

Successful completion of an ACGME accredited combined residency program in PM&R/Pediatrics, or

Successful completion of ACGME accredited residencies in PM&R and Pediatrics, and

American Board of PM&R certification or eligibility, and

Eligibility for medical licensure in District of Columbia

Applicants for the 2015 academicyear are strongly encouraged to complete the application process through ERAS by October 1, 2014.

Selected candidates will be invited for personal interviews. The interview involves meeting with each of the division’s faculty member as well as faculty from related subspecialties and tour of facilities.

Faculty for the Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Fellowship Program include each faculty member in the division of PRM at Children’s National as well as faculty members from MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital, faculty members in pediatric subspecialty divisions at Children’s National, psychologists, neuropsychologists, physical and occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, a social worker, nurses and an orthotist.

Q: How often will I work with a pediatric physiatrist?

All patients in outpatient and inpatient settings who are being evaluated or treated for functional deficits are seen and discussed with a faculty member of the Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine as the attending of records for the patient.

Q: Is there a hospitalist attending who co-treat patients during their acute inpatient rehabilitation?

No.

Q: What are the call responsibilities and the schedule for the same?

Call is taken from home with the exception of weekend and holiday in-house rounding on inpatients. Call is taken in one week long blocks, with average frequency being one week out of every 4. The fellows have attending physician back-up/supervision when they take call.

Q: What kind of educational resources are provided for the fellows?

Educational resources are provided by Children’s National Health System and MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital (MedStar NRH). These include conference rooms, audio-visual materials, internet access, library access, and a full range of conferences from related disciplines that also have postgraduate training programs. Relevant members of the staff of both Children’s National and MedStar NRH will provide education and clinical oversight to trainees in the PRM program. Online research training is required of all trainees.

Q: Is the hospital financially sound?

Children’s National has been able to weather the economic storm without reduction in staff.

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